The Mind
by Koure
Summary: The Heart, The Body, The Mind, and The Soul all act as one unit, without the other, the whole system fails and the being dies. Though the death is not always permanent. Sometimes a Broken Heart can remain, protecting a battered soul... At it's own loss...


_The Heart is the barrier. It is meant to keep the Soul from damage. When the Heart is broken, the Soul is left open to attack, and can be destroyed. The Heart is where the emotion from the Soul goes to, and where it is supplied to be used. If a person can become so important to another, they will gain the love from the Soul and the Heart. Thus leaving it open to attack from the person, however, the Heart is strong, and will not let someone in easily._

_The Body is the vessel. It carries the Physical Heart, Mind, and Soul, as well as the Barrier Heart. _

_The Mind is the link. The Mind connects the Soul, Heart, and Body. If the Mind is altered, so to is each in their own way. If the Mind is shattered, the Soul is broken away from the Body and Heart so it will not be damaged. Without the Mind, the Body is without the Soul, and will only live for a short time. _

_The Soul is what keeps each alive. If the Soul is damaged, the damage is permanent and will not be healed. It is a part of the Soul. If the Soul sustains enough damage, it will cease to exist and wither away. There will be nothing left._

* * *

Within the dark steel city of Midgar, a well known organization was hidden among the buildings. For the popularity it had come to gather, there was still little known about it. It's secrets were hidden away, and it's members were careful with the knowledge they possessed. The group was led by a rather obnoxious man, known only as Shinra and called the 'The President', within the organizations walls. The group itself was known as 'Soldier'.

Beyond the secrets, those kept quiet, every citizen knew about Soldier. They knew about how they kept the town functioning, helping to fight criminal activity, and keep the monster population at bay. They were heroes amongst Midgar. Strong, not like the average human and something that children looked up to. Even those outside of Midgar knew of them, as they could sometimes be heard of somewhere else, perhaps saving a town from a raving monster and committing noble deeds when they arose.

But in every story, where there is a hero, there is also villain.

Soldier's rival group, publicly known as the Turks, was even more secretive. The characteristics that could be seen, showed them to be sly, deceitful, and malicious. Their underhanded dealings caused trouble, and more than half the missing persons reports were jotted down as being a Turks fault.

Their leader, unknown by the citizens or even the police, was well known within Soldier. Tseng, leader of the Turks, was both feared and respected. His name was the only Turk's known within Soldier, as neither leader allowed their men to interact with one another, and consequences were heavy if that rule was broken.

Members of each group were strictly ordered to keep their association within the organizations' hidden to the best of their ability. However, it was much harder for Soldiers to do this, because of Mako. A well known drug on the streets, though incredibly hard to acquire. Mako was a natural substance, a liquid that could be found in certain areas of the world, and that could morph into crystals over time. Once at the crystalline stage, it was smashed into a fine dust, mixed with different materials, and consumed through numerous ways. However large consumption of the drug proved addictive and lethal. What was called, 'Mako Poisoning', was the number one cause of death to those who used the drug. Most cases were different, though the most noticeable affect was a person becoming comatose.

All members of Soldier were injected with liquid Mako, enhancing their physical abilities. The liquid caused muscle mass, stamina, and mental capabilities to increase, their strength becoming beyond human capabilities and ever expanding. Their power expanded in amazing ways, ever increasing.

The Mako also caused their eyes to glow, and there bodies to sometimes alter incorrectly, this was labeled as 'Mutation', the most common cases being additional limbs, though death could be a result.

Soldiers could be identified most easily by their glowing eyes, which shone brightly in daytime, and at night could be compared to that of a flashlight's glow.

Members of Soldier were not easily chosen, and few could join if they were not offered a position by a current high ranking member. The highest ranking members were nicknamed 'General', followed by their given name. Below them, were First Class Soldiers, and beneath that rank Second and Third Class.

The current Generals were Sephiroth, a unique and powerful man. Strongest out of them all and well trained. His origins were unknown, and most envied him. His physical attributes consisted of pail skin, a white that seemed as if it had never met sunlight, flowing silver hair, a distinct giveaway, and cold, deadly emerald eyes.

Angeal was the second General, he was an honorable man, encouraging yet strictly professional to those around him. His tanned skin stood out from most of the others, as those born and raised in Midgar had rather pail skin. His hair was black, and slicked back to keep it out of his eyes. His eyes, a turquoise color, glowed brightly.

The last General was named Genesis, another unique man, though very different from Sephiroth. He was well known to quote the popular play and book, Loveless. He showed his emotions often, though most didn't know exactly what he meant as he often spoke in riddles and quotes. His skin a middle hue between the other Generals, and his Auburn hair hung in a shaggy, but stylish mess. His eye were almost exactly like Angeal's, though a slightly darker shade.

The three men were incredibly good friends, though Angeal and Genesis had been raised in a small country village called Banora, before coming to Midgar. They'd attracted Sephiroth's attention, and the three had become friends before the two had shown interest in wanting to be Soldiers. They'd been able to join because of his offer, and rose in ranks quickly.

Some time after Angeal had become a General, he met a boy, Zachary Fair, that was making his way up in the ranks when he was held back, the kid's nature working against him. Shinra didn't like having such a talkative member in Soldier, finding it a liability and annoying, so he never allowed Zack to get his Mako dose, and had plans to kick him out. At least until Angeal offered to mentor the boy so he could remain. A soldier trained by one of the Generals was a valuable thing, and Shinra had agreed, though with greed in his mind.

After that, Angeal instructed Zack in educational purposes as well as the skills that a Soldier needed. And how to keep his mouth shut about important things. Zack looked quite similar to Angeal, except for his eyes, hair style, and height. He stood about six inches shorter than Angeal, and his hair was black and insanely spiky. His eyes were a bright blue, nearly glowing even without the Mako.

"Angeal!", Zack whined in frustration. He sat on his bed, his back against the wall and his knees drawn up. A report attached to a clipboard was settled on his knees and a black ink pen held tightly in his fingers.

Across from the bed, facing the opposite wall Angeal sat in a comfortable black chair at an old brown wood desk, dutifully completing yet another report. After setting the tedious paperwork away, into a small basket labeled 'Complete', he turned to look at Zack, his eyes gleaming in humor.

"Yes Pup?", he asked, his tone nuetral.

"I can't do this!", The raven haired boy stated staring at Angeal pleadingly.

"Of course you can, you've completed three others with minimal difficulty", Angeal replied, swiveling the chair so he now faced his student.

Zack was raised in Gongaga, a small rural town with little academic advantages. It was the type of village where no one expected anyone to leave, and so never really advanced technology and educational wise.

When Zack had arrived in Midgar, he'd had a lot to learn. He'd skipped school most of his life, and the times he'd been forced to go hadn't payed attention. After getting to Midgar, he'd been incredibly embarrassed about his reading and writing skills, finding that all those boring sessions from home really had been worth listening to.

Angeal had been astonished to learn that the boy could barely write, though he wasn't to bad about reading, and had taken the time to teach him properly when they became friends.

"They hurt my head though, and I don't understand this one", Zack mumbled, somewhat embarrassed. He still had a ways to go in his academic skills, and of course these words were _huge._

"Hm...", Angeal voiced, he stood from the black leather of the chair and walked over to the bed, sitting on the blue comforter and holding his hand out for the paper.

"Thanks 'Geal", Zack said in relief, scratching the back of his head and smiling sheepishly.

Angeal looked over the paper, his eyes scanning the page expertly. His eyes began to shine happily after a few seconds, and he let out a chuckle.

"Zack you airhead, this is talking about your promotion", he said, happiness and amusement in his voice, as well as some exasperation.

"For real? Lemme see!", Zack cheered and practically leapt onto Angeal to look at the report. He leaned over his mentor's back, sitting on his knees and threw his arms around Angeal's neck to grab the paper and pull it to one side the mans head, effectively choking him.

"Oh crap! Sorry old man!", Zack shouted, pulling his arms away. He did it so quickly that he lost his balance and fell back, his head hitting the wall and his legs almost hitting Angeal, who quickly moved out of the way while glaring death at him.

"Ow...", Zack said as he grabbed the back of his head, and scrunched his eyes closed. After a few seconds and the pounding ceased, he opened his eyes again and looked at Angeal. His mentor was now sitting on the chair, his arms crossed and his glare making Zack fearful.

"How, may I ask, am I an 'old man'?", the older questioned, his gaze promising pain if Zack answered wrong.

Zack sweat dropped.

"Um... It just kinda came out! I swear! It's what I called my pops back at home and well your older than me and you always call me a kid and you kinda taught me a bunch of stuff and you take care of me and I guess you just kinda remind me of my old man! So I didn't really realize it when I said that so I'm sorry 'Geal!", Zack rambled nervously, his puppy dog gaze watching as Angeal's features softened.

Angeal stood up again and moved back to the bed, sitting beside his pup and pressing his back against the wall.

"I guess I'll let it slide", he said, grabbing the report again which had fallen off the end of the bed in the excitement.

Zack smoothed the comforter where he'd tussled it and looked back to Angeal, glad he wasn't finding himself in one of the painful headlocks his mentor had shown him.

"How come you didn't realize that this is your promotion report Zack?", Angeal asked and handed the paper back to him.

"Well, I noticed it was for a promotion, but it doesn't have any names", Zack pointed out.

"That's because it's addressing you by your ID", Angeal said, giving him a look. "You've learned it by now haven't you?", he asked.

"Um... Yeah, I remember it now. It's got all the eights right?", Zack asked, now looking at the paper in a new way. He smiled again, seeing that he'd finally made it to First Class.

"I'd prefer if you remembered all of it, not just 'all the eights'", Angeal said sternly. Not knowing your ID could lead to trouble, and Zack didn't need anymore of it.

"It's got two's too", Zack said, his eyes raking the page of paper in an effort to understand some of it. "I think I've got a mission...", he said, not all that sure.

"It said you needed to speak with The President at the base", Angeal informed him, having already read that part. His tone was sympathetic.

"Aw great", Zack whined. He didn't like that fat old man, Shinra was an asshole that wanted to kick him out because he was annoying to him. How he even managed to become Soldier's leader was a mystery to the raven haired boy.

"You also need to be there by tomorrow noon", Angeal said, wishing Zack didn't have to deal with the man. Not all of the goings on in Soldier were honorable, he knew it, but Zack didn't. Chances were when he got his delayed Mako shots he'd find out. Angeal knew they'd be coming soon, within the next few days, and especially now that Zack was a First.

Zack was quiet for a minute, reading the third page which neither had gotten to, well he'd read it before he asked Angeal to help he hadn't really absorbed anything.

"Hey Angeal, it says that I need to go to the labs by 6pm", Zack said, a bit anxiously. He was expecting to get the Mako shots, and he knew Angeal was expecting them to come soon, but he was a little afraid.

The rumors about what Mako could do... And what he knew about it when it was used like a drug...

"It'll be okay Zack, I'll be there", Angeal said, sensing his students fear. Truthfully, there was no way he'd let Zack go alone. He didn't trust scientists. From what he'd seen, if they were connected to Soldier, it was best to stay away from them.

"Thanks. I think we need to go now, we need to get to Sector 1 if we want to get there on time", Zack said. He generally wasn't concerned with time, but well... This really wasn't something he wanted to be late for.

"So we should", Angeal said and stood. He walked across the room, grabbing his Buster Sword from the corner and strapping it to his back before putting his coat on. The coat was necessary for two reasons, there was a chill in the air, and it concealed the Buster well enough. Which was important unless he wanted to explain to the cops why he was carrying such a huge sword.

Zack grabbed his boots and pulled them on. After that he stood up, stretched, and followed after Angeal, who had the door open and was waiting for him.

They both left the little apartment, making their way out of the building. They walked through the crowded streets of the upper plate, to the train station. Zack paid for the tickets while Angeal kept an eye around, supervising everything around them. It didn't take long, about ten minutes before the train arrived and they boarded.

Zack chatted about little things, mainly girls he'd seen around or things he'd done with his buddies. Who Angeal had yet to meet and approve of, much to his discontent. After a few minutes, Angeal stopped listening to the pup, and began taking in their surroundings again, an uneasy feeling making it's way through his body.

They reached Sector 1 after a few more minutes, exiting the train rather quickly as Zack pranced out, still prattling about one of his friends that did something or other while drunk.

As they left, the uneasy feeling grew stronger and the hairs on Angeal's neck lifted, causing him to turn and try and find what was causing it.

His eyes met with a disturbingly light colored pair of blue eyes, the emotions currently displayed in them nothing but loathing and anger.

Angeal frowned, taking in the appearance of the person currently glaring at him.

It was a boy who looked about fifteen, perhaps younger, his hair was blond, though extremely light and caused him to take a second glance, mistaking it for white at first. The kid was short, shorter than Zack by at least half a head, which made him to the height of Angeal's chest.

Unsettled, Angeal held the boy's gaze for a minute, trying to determine why the kid seemed so angry, and why he was being targeted.

He was surprised when the boy didn't look away.

"Hey 'Geal, you comin'?", Zack called from a few feet away, watching him curiously. He couldn't see the boy, as the child was still in the train car and hidden from his view, and so didn't know what made Angeal stop. He was tempted to go back over, but figured if his Mentor hadn't whipped out that kick ass sword, everything was fine.

Unless he was at gun point, but Zack thought that was a bit dramatic.

Angeal didn't say anything as he broke the connection, giving the boy one last look, curious and wary, and walked to Zack.

"What was that about?", Zack asked him as they started walking.

Angeal didn't answer right away, considering the encounter himself. There were a number of possibilities, the boy could have been upset about something and he'd been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Or the more serious thoughts, the boy could be a Turk, and recognized him by his eyes. He didn't think they would take anyone in at such a young age, especially with the work they were said to do... The very idea of subjecting a child to such things disgusted Angeal, and he couldn't help but want to go back and speak with the boy.

Unfortunately, the train had already moved on.

"Nothing to worry about", Angeal stated, his tone distant, though leaving no room for debate.

Zack stuck his tongue out at his Mentor, which to his momentary relief appeared to go unnoticed as Angeal continued thinking.

They continued on for a little bit, finally coming to the buildings the labs were in.

Soldier had a number of buildings owned by Shinra within Midgar, a few were in each sector to avoid attracting attention. The Labs were in Sector 1, the main base in Sector 7, and the other buildings, not so important than those two, scattered around the other sectors.

They entered, the room was clean and friendly looking with a middle aged women as a secretary. After a few quick words with her, Angeal lead the uncertain Zack up a few floors and into one of those rooms. The walls were white, and several machines were attached to the walls.

A Doctor and Scientist were waiting for them.

The Doctor was a middle aged man with a friendly face and graying black hair. His eyes were a kind brown and he wore a lab coat, like the Scientist. What the Doctor appeared however, was the opposite the other man was. The Scientist was thin, with a pointed face and a long rat pony tail. His eyes were cold, dissaproving green.

Zack took a deep breath as he noticed that syringes already filled with Mako were set on a small rolling table against a bed.

"Ah, Sirs. Mr. Fair, if you would lay on this bed please?", The Doctor asked and walked over to a bed, pulling medical gloves one as he did so and reaching over to grasp one of the syringes.

Zack looked at Angeal nervously, who nodded.

The raven haired boy walked to the bed, sitting on it first before laying back. His head rest against the pillow, and he thanked The Goddess they weren't having him lay on a surgical table.

Without warning, a cold hand gripped his wrist and pulled. He felt icy metal around his wrist, and tried to pull his arm away. However it was bound and sealed in a thick metal cuff.

"Hey wait! What are you doing?", he asked, panicking as his other wrist was restrained.

"Zack, calm down. It's a necessary procedure in case a patient reacts violently", he hear Angeal say, and saw him come up to his side. After a second a warm hand ran through his hair soothingly, and he looked up to Angeal's reassuring gaze.

Everything would be okay, was the silent promise.

His ankles were bound next and he tried his best not to squirm. He didn't like being restrained, it wasn't reassuring, as it meant that they thought he might react badly. It was countered though by Angeal's eyes, that he still hadn't looked away from, and didn't want to as he heard the Doctor walk away and then approach again.

He felt fear starting to appear, everything he'd heard coming to mind and beginning to scare him.

He jumped when he felt The Doctor swab at his elbow, and closed his eyes as he felt a needle go into his arm.

"Now this is going to hurt, so be ready kid", he said sympathetically and began injecting the Mako.

Within the next few seconds a burning pain spread through his arm, and made it's way throughout his body, causing him to groan in pain and his hands to clench. It got harder to keep quiet as the pain became greater, and at one point he thought he heard Angeal say something, but he couldn't focus enough to understand what was being said.

The pain started to intensify, a burning, twisting pain that made him sick to his stomach and feel as if he was being torn apart.

"Angeal!", he shouted as his body twisted, but remained relatively in the same position as before because of the binds.

He barely felt Angeal's hands on him, keeping him down against the bed. He didn't even understand the words he heard, yet the tone was soothing once it got passed the rushing sound in his head. It didn't really help though.

Angeal watched despairingly as Zack's body convulsed, and called out for him yet again. His hands were on the boy's chest, holding him down easily when his body tried to curl in on itself.

"What's wrong?", he demanded at the Doctor, who was still injecting more Mako into his pup. He'd asked why so much was being given to Zack before, amongst comforting his student who at the time had been moaning softly. The response he'd been given had been, '_He should have gotten them before, now the lost time needs to be made up for and if we do it in sections his body will wear down and possibly degrade'. _

"His body is having difficulty accepting the Mako and Jenova Cells", The Doctor answered with a sigh, continuing to inject Zack and apparently trying to block out the poor boy's sounds of pain.

"Jenova Cells?", Angeal questioned, wincing as Zack cried out again.

He hadn't heard of Jenova Cells, and felt rage clawing through him as he thought that they might be using Zack as some sort of test subject. The Scientist, standing back with a clipboard and writing as he observed Zack like some kind of specimen gave his mind reason to believe such.

"A new substance dubbed, 'Jenova Cells', all members are now being injected with them, those of you who haven't been introduced to them will be soon", The Doctor said, his gaze growing reassuring as Angeal glared death at him. After a few seconds, the last syringe had been emptied and he pulled the needle out.

"'Geal!", Zack shouted again, his body contracting and his muscles flexing.

In less than a second the deathly aura that had been radiating off of Angeal became concerned, and his gaze softened as he looked back at Zack.

"It's okay Zack, it'll be fine", he soothed.

He wished that sedatives could be used, but knew from personal experience that it made the situation worse, and had even caused death. But at least the injections were finished and Zack's pain should be easing now.

He waited as Zack's body stopped moving, and his breathing eased from panicked and pained to deep, labored breathing. Zack stopped crying out, though the occasional whimper was released. The worst seemed to be over.

"Angeal?", Zack whimpered slightly, his hands clenching and un-clenching.

"I'm right here Zack, everything's okay", he said softly, knowing his friend and student's head would still be ringing. He moved his hands back to Zack's face and rubbed soothing circles on his cheek with one hand while the other ran through his hair again.

"Can you let me go now?", the boy all but begged, his eyes opening a crack before closing again. The light made black spots appear in his vision, and made his head pound more.

He felt the clamps being released hurriedly, and resisted the urge to curl up into a ball. He did turn onto his side, finding even that difficult to do. His body felt weary, and his mind used up.

"There Zack, the leftover pain will start to go away and you'll feel more energized in a couple of hours", Angeal said. He eyed the Doctor as the man grabbed a few items from a cabinet, putting them into a white bag and then holding it out to Angeal.

"Can we go home?", Zack questioned, opening his eyes a crack now that his hair shielded them from the light.

"Of course, I'll have to take you to my apartment since it's closer though", Angeal said, taking the bag and thinking about how they'd reach his place, there was no way Zack was going back to his little apartment, which a person would have to take a train to get to from here.

"That's okay", Zack mumbled and tried to sit up, managing to get about halfway there before he began to get lightheaded and Angeal had to hold him up so he wouldn't fall back.

"I'm also going to need to carry you. Your sight isn't very good right now, and your bodies under to much stress to be of any use to you", Angeal said, being extremely careful as he slipped his arm beneath Zack legs and the other just below his shoulders. He pulled him up off of the table easily, pulling him close to his chest.

"'Geal...", Zack whined tiredly.

"Shush Pup", Angeal ordered, soft amusement in his voice.

Zack thought he was to big to be carried, but he contradicted himself when he laid his head on Angeal's shoulder and let his eyes slip closed, completely relaxed and feeling like he could fall asleep.

Angeal chuckled and left the room, nodding at the Doctor and ignoring the Scientist. He took the elevator down, walking through the lobby before slipping out the door and heading for an alley. He took the back ways so they could avoid people, as Zack would be embarrassed to about being seen like this by the people who would surely be watching.

They reached Angeal's apartment complex, and he slipped in through a side door that connected to the stairway. He climbed the stairs swiftly, taking a break to check on Zack, who had seemed to have fallen asleep.

"Poor Puppy", he murmured as he left the stairs and walked to his door. He maneuvered Zack so he could fish the key card out of his pocket and open the door, then walked in and sat Zack on the couch for the moment.

Angeal's apartment was much larger than Zack's single room and bathroom. Having a higher pay, Angeal could afford a double room apartment with a kitchenette, and no matter how many times he'd urged Zack to move in with him, the silly boy wouldn't take the offer.

"What did the Doctor give you Zack?", Angeal mused as he took observed the items in the bag.

Angeal smiled at the Doctor's thoughtfulness, standing up and finding two clean cloths, wetting one with warm water and some soap, and returned to Zack's side carrying the bag. He set it down, and sat on his knees beside the couch.

Very gently, he pulled Zack's arm away from his side, and took a look at his wrist. It was scraped badly, and bleeding sluggishly, though not much. Angeal cleaned it off, waiting a moment as Zack shifted a little bit, before dabbing at it to dry it off. Next he reached into the bag, pulling some antibiotic ointment out and applying it to Zack's wrist. He finished off by bandaging it, and then did the same to the other. He checked Zack's ankles, but they weren't bad, a little bruised but otherwise fine.

He picked Zack up again, and carried him into the guest room. He set him on the bed, his student happily oblivious. Whatever he was dreaming must have been fabulous, because it appeared that he was quite happy.

Angeal smiled and tossed a sheet over the pup. He left the room and entered the living room again, grabbing a book and relaxing on the couch.

* * *

_-Sigh- Here's that new idea. Oh and I have another one, (Be it unfortunate or wonderful I have no clue...) that I am working on as well. School sucks like I new it would, but it takes up more energy from me than I thought... _

_Therefore, when I take to long to update, spam me with either messages, or reviews. NO FLAMES! Just spam. Er... Like, 'hurry up your taking to long!' or something. _

_Lastly, how's this story? What'cha think of it and please review. I miss the good old reviews. (My fault really for not updating much O.O')_

_Okay, see you later and I'll try and get all my stories updated as soon as I can. Review please!_


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